mcville: Benedict Eastaugh Interview

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Benedict Eastaugh Interview

Nov 27, 08:09 PM by Marko

Interivew with Benedict Eastaugh at ionfish.co.uk

Marko: Heya Benedict! *
Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and
other stuff)

Benedict: I’m a 23 year-old student and sometime web designer, splitting my time
between London and Bristol, where I’m in my final year of a Philosophy
degree. Web design was something I got into in order to turn an honest
penny, and so far I seem to have achieved a modest amount of success as
far as that’s concerned. I see it as a trade, in the best sense: it
keeps my head above water financially, and it’s a better job than many
because I enjoy it, and it’s a great opportunity to learn so many
skills. However, it’s not where I see myself staying; the articles I
post on my site are probably closer to my ultimate goals in that regard,
giving me an opportunity both to say things I think are important, and
improve my writing.

Marko: How are you doing these days?

Benedict: Busily! I seem to be swamped with work and projects of various kinds,
from writing gigantic essays to designing websites. In the gaps, I’m
finding time to cook, write the occasional entry on my website, and see
the odd film here and there.

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?

Benedict: I was probably about eight or nine; my dad got into computers because of
his work, and he definately had a personal computer by the late eighties
or early nineties, so my first proper encounter with them would have
been about then. I remember one of his early computers—which we still
have, somewhere—was this 386 with an orange and black screen. It played
a couple of games, and I used to spend hours absorbed in Jumpman. Later,
I started writing stories on his laptop: I could type this stuff
straight from my head into the computer, which is strange, because these
days so much of my writing goes into a notebook first, before being
typed up on the computer.

Marko: What is your favorite art work / website?

Benedict: Tricky one, this. On balance, I’d probably have to say that Hokusai’s
print, ‘The Great Wave Off Kanagawa’, because it embodies so many of the
virtues I admire in design: drama, dynamism and form; contrasts of
colour and shape; a perfect balance of definition and texture. There are
better works of art, and ones that speak to me in a more personal way,
but Hokusai is a master of everything I would like to accomplish
professionally, in my design work.

Marko: When you launched ionfish.co.uk, were you happy with the result of the site?

Benedict: At the time, yes, but I always tend to grow dissatisfied with my sites
fairly quickly. There’s always room for improvement, especially with
work as imperfect as mine. When I joined 9rules, I was halfway through a redesign.
It would be better to start with the new design, I thought, so people
weren’t confused by such a big change only a week or so after first
seeing the site, so I rushed it out of the door before Scrivs announced
that I’d joined the network. Currently I’m having a rethink; I like the
basic structure of the site, but a lot of areas need work. Various
aspects of the CSS have to be altered fairly significantly to make it
work in Internet Explorer, and I want to do something about the
navigation; I like the functionality, but it’s not particularly attractive.

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this
context, is pretty relative)?

Benedict: I don’t have spare time. Either I’m doing something useful, or I’m not.
If I’m not, then I’m probably crashed in front of the telly, reading a
book, or asleep. Otherwise, I’m reading, writing, coding, or otherwise
doing something work-like. Put like that, it doesn’t sound like that
much fun, but that’s not how I see it; when I’m working, I throw myself
into it, I enjoy doing things, feeling that I’m accomplishing something,
no matter how minor.

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?

Benedict: I’d have to say beer—in moderation, of course. A couple of pints of a
night is plenty; I’m not a heavyweight drinker by any stretch of the
imagination. Continental lager is my preference, usually either German
or something Czech, like Budvar. A good bottle of wine always goes down
well, too; it’s a very social drink, wonderful when shared between friends.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like
for Benedict Eastaugh?

Benedict: Generally I try to get up fairly early; I’m not very good at mornings,
but I find that the day tends to turn out better if I make it out of the
house at a reasonable hour. Coffee and a quick check of the internet are
followed by a walk up to the University, regardless of whether or not I
have lectures that day; doing the final year of an Arts degree means I
hardly have any contact time, but I have a lot of work, and I find I can
concentrate better in the library or shacked up in a cafe somewhere.
When I’m actually working, I work fast and very concentratedly, but I
can’t do it for long; a couple of hours at a time is an absolute
maximum, and forty minutes is more usual. In between sessions I walk
places, check my email, write lists and plans—small stuff, easily
accomplished, that can make me feel like I’m getting somewhere.
Newspapers are a particular vice: if I buy one, it sucks away the day
like almost nothing else can, because I just sit there reading it (and
trying to do the crossword). I avoid them unless I’m travelling or don’t
have too much work on at the time.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work?
How do you do it?

Benedict: These days, work comes to me: I get recommended by friends and past
clients, and people then get in touch asking if I’d be interested in
working with them. Sometimes they come through the website, having only
seen that; I used to have a portfolio of my work there, although I took
it down earlier in the year when I redesigned, mostly because I had more
work than I could handle and wanted to split the personal side—the
weblog—from the professional side. Initially, I worked for people my
dad knew, mostly conservators in need of websites; they’d mention to him
that they needed a website, and he’d tell them that I could do one.
Nepotism, I suppose, but they always made the choice based on my past
work; I like to think that, at least in part, I was hired because of
some level of competence at what I did.

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?

Benedict: Bob Dylan, for his wonderful way with words, and his incredible
connection to stories, myths, people. Haruki Murakami—he writes about
the incredibly everyday and the fantastical, at the same time, and
reconciles them in a way I’ve never seen anyone else manage. Knowing
that it can be done—or rather, knowing that one can do it and be
successful—is immensely cheering. Miles Davis has been with me a long
time, and I appreciate his music more with every passing year. It pulls
you into so many places, all of them fascinating, all of them cool. As
far as philosophy is concerned, I love the biting irony of David Hume,
and Wittgenstein’s koan-like sentences.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web
development and design like?

Benedict: Web design was something I stumbled into, almost by accident. My dad was
setting up a research group, and wanted a website to publicise their
work, so he asked me to do it. I learned HTML in an afternoon, back in
the bad old tag-soup and tables days, and churned out a website—not a
bad one, I think, given my inexperience—and picked up ?300 for it.
After that it was just a matter of knowing people: small businesses
wanted websites from people they trusted at reasonable prices, and I
could provide that.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?

Benedict: I can’t really lay claim to either of those titles, but I suppose I’d
have to be doing something for money. Maybe I’d be one of those
crazy ‘pro-bloggers’, raking in AdSense cash. Maybe not, though. As far
as alternative career paths go, I think could enjoy being a carpenter.
Becoming totally absorbed in making something is very appealing to me.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?

Benedict: A triumph of content over style! Seriously, though, I seem to keep
getting linked here by people I know to read their interviews, so you’re
obviously doing something right.

Marko: If you could change something on the site what would it be?

Benedict: Make it a bit less busy; all those buttons down the right-hand side give
me the willies.

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?

Benedict: Well, I saw Bob Dylan on Thursday, so I suppose I have to say him. Other
than that, I have fairly broad interests; it ranges from the Velvet
Underground to Blind Willie McTell via Television and Godspeed You Black
Emperor! I’m also not opposed to a bit of Bach or Beethoven. Honestly, I
could be here all day.

Marko: What’s your favorite food?

Benedict: With so much wonderful food in the world, I’d be hard pressed to pick a
favourite. Both of my parents are fantastic cooks, so anything by them
when they’re on form.

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturdays?

Benedict: Down the pub, usually; I’m not much for clubs, unless it’s a live music
venue. A bit of jazz at somewhere like Ronnie Scott’s is a great way to
spend an evening. I’d go there every week if I could.

some relaxing question to follow

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?

Benedict: Chinese, mainly because my experience of Thai food is very limited, and
Chinese cusine is so diverse that anyone can find at least something
they like.

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?

Benedict: Neither—I don’t drink that kind of thing.

Marko: html or css?

Benedict: CSS, but only just, because not being able to use the full range of
selectors because of problems with browsers like Internet Explorer is
incredibly frustrating. As soon as I can get away with it, I’m going to
go mad with the child selector. Structure interests me, but I find HTML
quite limited in this regard, so tweaking leading and colours is more
satisfying.

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?

Benedict: I bought the Firefly DVD a few weeks ago, and had a great time watching
that. Other recent obsessions include Battlestar Galactica, which is
fantastic for many reasons, not least of which is Grace Park.

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?

Benedict: My bookmarks folder is a shrine to John Gruber.

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.

Benedict: Good conversation; empty rooms; falling leaves; ruined buildings; coffee.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview Benedict ,Cheers!

Benedict: You’re quite welcome; thank you for having me.

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Benedict Eastaugh Interview

Nov 27, 08:09 PM by Marko